Ward

Wards are used in WAR as a system to gate progression through the content. Gear from one level of progression has wards that allow progression in the next level of content by reducing damage from that content to manageable levels.

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A Lesser Ward effect will reduce damage in High Level City Dungeon and Fortress encounters by 40% (down from 300%) and can stack up to 5 times. It also increases your own damage upwards by 15% (up from 40%) in those encounters and can stack up to 5 times. It is found on the Bloodlord and Annihilator sets which come from the Tier 4 dungeon and RVR content respectively.

A Greater Ward effect will reduce damage in The Lost Vale and City Invasion PQ encounters by 40% (down from 300%) and can stack up to 5 times. It also increases your own damage upwards by 15% (up from 40%) in those encounters and can stack up to 5 times. The Greater Ward effect also includes the Lesser Ward effect. Greater Wards are found on the Sentinel and Conqueror armor sets which come from the Tier 5 dungeon and RVR content respectively.

A Superior Ward effect will reduce damage in City Boss encounters by 40% (down from 300%) and can stack up to 5 times. It also increases your own damage upwards by 15% (up from 40%) in those encounters and can stack up to 5 times. The Superior Ward effect also includes the Lesser Ward and Greater Ward effects. The Superior Ward is found on pieces of the Dark Promise and Invader sets, which come from Tier 6 Dungeon and RVR content respectively.

An Excelsior Ward effect will reduce damage in King Fights by 40% (down from 300%) and can stack up to 5 times. It also increases your own damage upwards by 15% (up from 40%) in those encounters and can stack up to 5 times. The Excelsior Ward effect also includes the Lesser Ward, Greater Ward and Superior Ward effects. The Excelsior Ward is found only on the Warlord set which comes from Tier 7 RVR content.

The Supreme Ward effect can stack up to 5 times. The Supreme Ward effect includes the Lesser Ward, Greater Ward, Superior Ward and Excelsior Ward effects. The Supreme Ward is found only on the Sovereign Armor Set which comes from Tier 8 RVR content. Presumably, this ward only exists as a separate entity just in case something beyond King Fights are required.

Mythic announced an upcoming change to the Ward system at Games Day Baltimore. The "Sigil" system was announced, transferring wards from specific pieces of equipment to the Tome of Knowledge. Mythic staff cited player frustration at having to accept inferior itemization in exchange for wards for PvE content. They went on to explain that ward pieces will still be available through the respective armor sets, as well as complementary methods such as killing the proper bosses a specific number of times, and entirely new routes, such as RvR Tome of Knowledge achievements. The term Sigil was later dropped in favor of the existing terminology of Wards, although the improved functionality was implemented as planned.